Africa Favorites

There are many public toilets in Morocco. They can usually be found near mosques. Most are the squat design but in service stations they have sit down toilets. It is courteous to tip the attendant who keeps the place clean, you should pay for the paper they offer. In Djemaa El Fna there is a public toilet behind the plant stalls. Not suitable for...

the foreign curency exchange ATM's are different from the international ATM's, in that you can exhange you US Dollar, European EU, Canadian Dollars, Australian Dollars and other selected currencies like the Saudi Arabian Riyal, Kuwait Dinar or the Bahraini Dinar into Egyptian Pound (LE) via a fixed exchange rate via these automated teller machines,...

Fishoek is a small little town on False Bay and is also on the way to Simon's Town and Boulders Beach. It doesnt seem like there is much happening in this beautiful spot other than people Fishing or lying about on the beach. We spent a day relaxing there and it is nice to get away from always busy Cape Town

Obviously, you will be given more than a few opportunities to get that long coveted camel ride in Hurghada, if that is your desire.
These can range from a ten minute walk around the parking lot up to a full day tour out in the desert.
Here a young girl awaits a fare somewhere out in the Eastern Desert...

No doubts about, the whole complex of Karnak is amazing achievement of an extraordinary civilisation which excisted three of four thousands year ago. I always wonder what will left after us who live nowadays, could one modern skycraper survive after three of four Hundred years, I doubt it. If not by natural cause it will be demolished or dismanteld...

In the heart of Alexandria, at Mansheia near by Saint Catherine Square this main Greek Orthodhox Patriarchate is found. The street itself is called Greek Church Street "Share' Al-Kaneesa Al-Younaneah". It is one of the landmarks of Alexandria not only religiously but also architecturally and culturally.
In Arabic Greek Orthodhox are called "Rom...

King Hassan II wanted that his kingdom's main city had a monument important enough. Many resources has been used to build this enormous buildings and many many money spent, so money that some common people would have rathered were used to fight unemployment troubles for example.

Unfortunately, too many people are only interested in seeing the "Big 5" that they miss the opportunity to see some of the other great animals that call Africa home. I say this because many of the passengers on my safari where interested in the Elephants, Rhinos and Lion and Leopards that many missed some of the great animals that I was so happy to...

Namibia is a big country and the gravel roads mean that you can’t cover large distances, so you need to plan your route carefully to fit in everything you most want to see, especially if like us your time is limited. We had only two weeks, so had to make some tough decisions about what NOT to see as well as what we would fit in. With that amount...

The official language of Morocco is just Arab, but French still being spoken for almost everybody in the country (at least in the cities) in spite of it's not an official one. If you speak French you'll be fell absolutely comfortable because the signs, both official and private are written in this language. For those non French speakers at least...

like in any country, egypt has lots of snack foods and junk foods present and there is a cornucupia of assorted snack foods which you can buy in and around cairo which are made by local companies, multinational companies and local street hawkers and they range from halal potato chips, nachos, assorted small cakes, yogurts, finger foods, falafel and...

It's not often that you need a tour guide in cities that you know well, but on my last trip to Cape Town, I came across Allan Korsman of Blue Monkey Tours, who lead the tour that I joined at Groote Schuur's Heart of Cape Town museum. He helps out occasionally at the museum, but more commonly guides tours which he customises to meet his clients'...

Luxor temple was dedicated to the Theban Triad of Amun, Mut, and Chons and was, during the New Kingdom, the focus of the annual Opet Festival, in which a cult statue of Amun was paraded down the Nile from nearby Karnak Temple to stay there for a while, with his consort Mut, in a celebration of fertility – whence its name.Construction work on the...

Oh yes, you will enjoy your trip to Alexandria and walking is an experience you will treasure. I have seen people, the local young boys and girls, their parents whom you will be comfortable talking with. On our trip to Alex, we did a lot of walking from around the museum and most of the walking happened at the Fort of Qaitbay and the Corniche....

Casablanca is a large and modern city, where, once, someone made a film that, for reasons that I couldn't really understand in the 97 times that I saw it, became very famous.
If you are thinking in the film scenery, you may find a reconstructed bar, an area they say that it was in the movie, and... that's it. If you want to meet Morocco, then the...

People who travel over borders via KNP will require to overnight in the park, not just drive through, proof of overnight stay will be required at borders.Please check with KNP or on their website for more details.

first of all,to enjoy sunrise on namib dunes,you MUST spend the night ONLY in sessriem campground (see hotel pic)....
WHY?because the only gates to open one hour before sunrise are campground gates....
BTW,don't forget to buy gate entrance tickets the day before!
if you visit ONE thing in south namibia,here you are!really a must!
huge NAMIB...

The city of Marrakech has many sights and sounds and flavours to it. However the best places to escape all the noise is to head out of the centre about 20 mins outside into the palmaraie or the palm grove of marrakech. The best way to embrace and to enjoy the best views and the scenic location is on a quad bike or even a horse riding tour. These...

We've been to Cairo twice. The Pyramids and Sphynx are awesome sites.
Remember it is a tourist spot so peddlers will come from everywhere. Enjoy the sites first, then bargain for souvenirs.
Stay in site of the bus parking.
Visit the Cairo Museum. It is amazing. The history of the site.

The decision was made: we are walking down. Today I am not sure if it was the right thing to do - we didn't know the way, we had no map or guide, we had no idea what to expect. By the way, one shouldn't underestimate the Table Moubtain - although it is only 1078 metres high, it can be really dangerous, especially because of the weather that can...

This is one of my «from the bus» pictures. It was shot during my first encounter with the grand and divine Nile river on my way from Hurghada to Luxor. I grew up on two beautiful rivers, Sava and Danube, but the Nile is something else. It is the longest river in the world, with water colors that can’t be described. It is so wide…
The legend says...

This the first time I recommend a guide and I do this for two reasons: 1) I would have loved if someone advertised a good guide to me so I would have spent less time arguing with fake guides, fake drivers and hassles.
2) she is really good, clever, funny and professional, she speaks perfect English, good French and let’s say she speaks Italian...

The old medina of Casablanca is not quite like the old medina in other Moroccan cities - it's much smaller, less stunning but - maybe - more authentic. You won't see many "tourist-oriented" shops, but real shops where normal people go to buy what they need... a butcher's, a bakery, a tea shop. None of them looking to clean, though...
The best and...

An advantage of game viewing in October, at the end of the dry winter season, is that the waterholes and rivers are all parched. This has the effect of bunching the game up for much easier viewing. Here, the view from the restaurant area at Oliphants Camp shows the yellowish normal width of the river, as compared to the few pools that actually have...

I did saw cheetahs 2 times in my 14 day travel along Namibia. In both time they where not free cheetahs. The first time I saw one was at Quiver Tree Forest Camp. They had one there 3 cheetahs and they let us to get inside the fence while he was eating. He didn't look at us, he was only thinking in his meal.
The second time was at Africat...

One thing we never tired of in Marrakesh was watching, and trying to photograph, daily life on the streets, and fortunately that is an activity very compatible with a broken foot bone! Just find a table at any of the Djamaa el Fna cafés, such as the Argana or Café Glaciers, order a strong coffee or mint tea, and sit back and wait for the world to...

This is a beautiful city with lot of similarity with our Indian city. We got down from Luxor at 5.30 in the morning, the city was on the move, people were buying tea, breakfast, going to work or school.
I really love the way, people live there! It also shows that people are not lazy like many Asian countries, where people sleep through sunrise or...

This one day trip around the Cape Peninsula was the best day of our visit to Cape Town. We are grateful to our wonderful guide and great companion for the day - a VT member Mariana known as Mvtouring. Here is a short report from the trip.
In the morning Mariana picks us up from our meeting place and we set off on our trip full of doubts because of...

Did tour including boat trip from Luxor to Aswan for first visit to Egypt:found it too organized, guides in a hurry to return you to boat for meals, time at sites was limited, wasting time waiting for others to return to bus/from hotel rooms,those factory visits(guide gets a commission), given no time for own shopping,missing out on places e.g.Khan...

I bought those blue glasses at the rear and the first tea-pot and paid - after baigaining :-) -190DHS.
Not to be missed, even if only to get an idea of prices - a wise precaution before launching into the refined art of bargaining.

Meeting and interacting with local people is always an important addition to the overall impressions of the country. In case of Namibia I'll have wonderful memories. I didn't have a chance to make friends or spend time discussing some important issues, but those short moments of exchanging a few kind words and smiles were very frequent and I...

These gardens were laid out in the period when colonialism was still a good word in Europe. In the 1920s the French artist Jacques Majorelle had it made, complete with pools, banana trees, coconut palms, bougainvilleas, and houses in a fantastic dark blue colour.
The gardens have later been taken well care of the French couturier Yves...

the Nile River Corniche is the long riverwalk, parallel to the Niche Corniche Road in most areas, filled with assorted docking bays for various Nile River Boat Tours and riverside restaurants and bars and towering residential and commercial condominiums and buidlings facing the east bank of the Nile River in Cairo. The Nile Corniche is one of the...

One of the spectacular features of Kirstenbosch Garden is its location.
Cape Town's Table Top Mountain creates a magnificent background for the beautiful garden of colorful flowers.
Hikers can also enjoy the Garden as three forest trails have been laid out within the boarders of Kirstenbosch. The Stinkwood Trail only takes 45 minutes to hike...

The centre is the hub of a series of spacious avenues spreading out in star formation, each lined with elegant buildings that are an admirable blend of art deco and neo-Moorish styles, featuring cupolas, belvederes, columns, cedarwood balconies and turrets.
The buildings are of a French version of Arabo-Andalucian architecture, white with soft...

Namibia's independence came in the early 1990s only after a protracted civil war that included involvement from both superpowers' proxies and pre-apartheid South Africa. Many of the third world's "revolutionary leaders" contributed to the final success of Namibia's bolt to independence.
And, the Namibians have remembered those who have helped...

There is a market near the town square. In spite of shopping, it is worth sight seeing too. The market mainly sell the carpets, slippers, lamps, T-shirsts, decorations, etc. Pls remember you can ask for a discount.

if you are touring the Egyptian National Musuem on a group tour like us, your tour guide and egyptologists guide will give you the wireless headphones as a means of communication as you go around the huge musuem as silence is strictly enforced inside (and also no picture and video taking). your egyptologist guide will talk to you via these wireless...

Unique landscapes - wine tasting - mountains - nice people - black or white! Different generations ! Democracy is the objective - they will get their target !!
What are you looking for !!
This is SA ! Cape Town has so lot to offer - and it was my first contact with this country - but not the last.
First impression is different - but contact with...

Unlike other Cities better known in Morocco as *Imperial cities*, CASA is a well appreciated resort in summertime (No swimming this time of the year!) and an excellent spot for nightlife!
The coast will be newly structured, and the long beach of *Ain Diab* will receive still more specialized facilities.
Sorry about the bad quality of some of my...

Take a late afternoon walk on the beach. You can walk forever. Seemed like it is the in thing to do for the locals. We met several walkers. The strollers, the serious walkers that doesn't look around but just walk, the animal lovers, everybody just walks. If you're lucky and there are no clouds you will be able to watch the wonderful sunsets The...

This place over look Djemaa el-Fna & medina. I was told not to take photos of the minaret by our taxi driver as it was forbidden ? can some tell me if this is true as you see i did, sorry if i offend anyone, walk in peace.

The CItadel, also called Al-Qala, is a walled fortress on top of a hill in Cairo. In the past it had been the home to Egypt's rulers for about 700 years. The Citadel was built in different stages, so it turned out to be a mix of differing styles There's a lot to see in the Citadel: several museums, various historical buildings and three mosques,...

There are several good spots to go shopping. Whether you choose to stroll through a fleamarket or around a modern department store, there are many possibilities to satisfy your need. The Victoria Wharf is a shopper's paradise with something for everyone. The shops stay open 'till late each night. Outside, you'll find many pubs and restaurants....

Namibia has a wide variety of landscapes: the red hight dunes of Sossusvlei and the flat hills of Damaraland, the terrific desolate skeleton coast and the dry wild kaokoveld, with one of the last primitive people of Africa. Etosha is wide reserve with an enormous quantity of every kind of animals, easy to see near the wather pools.There is a German...